Hello & welcome (back) to the Art of Doing Podcast!

On this show I interview what I call "Epic Doers". These are the kinds of people who have big dreams for the things they want to do, create, and experience during their life on Earth...and they're the kinds of people who actually go do it!

Today's guest, Patrice Banks, is no exception.

I ran into Patrice at SXSW in Austin, Texas earlier this year, and she was hard to miss. She was set up in The Girls Lounge, a beautiful brand experience hosted by The Female Quotient, at a table that was loaded down with car parts & tools. In a room full of gorgeous, plush furnishings and otherwise "feminine" things like make-up, clothes, and shoes, the car parts stuck out like a sore thumb.

I was intrigued, so I beelined for her booth where we chatted about women, entrepreneurship, and changing the world. You know, small talk at SXSW!

It turns out that Patrice is former engineer and "auto airhead" who founded Girls Auto Clinic, a workshop turned brick & mortar auto repair shop in Philadelphia, PA.

Her mission with Girl Auto Clinic was to create a place she wanted to bring her car for repair and maintenance. She has since made it her mission to educate and empower women through their cars.

On today's episode we dig into Patrice's story, her passion for empowering women, embracing diversity, leveraging your strengths, and what's she's learned about being a woman in the decidedly male dominated world of cars.

This week Patrice is celebrating a big milestone as her very first book hits the shelves. "Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide" is a do-it-herself guide to auto maintenance, roadside emergencies, and the real scoop on how women can get honest car service at the garage. Congrats, Patrice!

I hope you enjoy this week's show!

To connect with Patrice visit:

https://www.patricebanks.com/

http://girlsautoclinic.com/

http://amzn.to/2y6aFi8

PS. Next week I'll be introducing a new part of the show! 10 minute power sessions on a topic that's all about the "Art of Doing"!

How did 25 perfect strangers come together to serve 720 patients in the remove villages of Uganda?

On this week's episode of Art of Doing, Hilary sits down with Hope Caldwell to talk about their recent medical mission trip to Masindi, Uganda with OneWorld Health.

What did they learn on their trip?

What lessons did they bring home?

And how are they re-integrating those lessons learned back into their lives at home?

It was a vibrant experience neither of us soon forget. Dig in & enjoy the show as we explore the power of venturing beyond your comfort zone.

To learn more about OneWorld Health visit http://oneworldhealth.com/. You may just be inspired to participate in a medical mission trip yourself!

UPDATE: The application for the December Outreach Team was just extended to Monday, September 18th and OneWorld Health would love to have you! There are medical and non-medical spots available. The team will travel December 8-18, 2017. Reach out to [email protected] with any questions or apply online at oneworldhealth.com/volunteer.

This week on Art of Doing, I chat with Hamilton Perkins, the founder of Hamilton Perkins Collection, a socially conscious line of designer travel bags made from recycled plastic bottles and repurposed billboard vinyl lining.

"Billions of plastic bottles are thrown away each year. The average person throws away as much as 180 pounds of plastic in 365 days. It takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade. We address these issues by partnering with organizations like Thread, to turn trash into fashion with every bag we sell. Who says style can't have purpose? From bottles to bags!"

We talk about his winding path, from early entrepreneurial endeavors (selling locker artwork), to working in banking, to leveraging his penchant for research and insights to create Hamilton Perkins Collection. We explore the routine that keeps him functioning at his best. We talk about the importance of sustainability and good practices in business. And we dig into the value of good old hard work when it comes to pursuing your dreams.

To learn more about Hamilton visit: https://hamiltonperkins.com/

And for a limited time you can save $10 on your first order at Hamilton Perkins. Just enter the code ART at checkout.

Enjoy the episode and we'll catch you next week!

NEW EPISODE! We're back with Season 2 of the Art of Doing Podcast and we're kicking it off with the endlessly inspiring Katie Horwitch.

Katie Horwitch is a writer, speaker, artist, activist, and the founder of WANT: Women Against Negative Talk – a platform that gives women tips, tools, motivation, and inspiration to move forward in their lives by shifting their negative self-talk patterns.

WANT was founded out of the realization that there were zero places for women to not only receive inspiration, but actual tools and resources to change their limiting negative talk patterns in a lasting way that works very personally and specifically for them. WANT is what Katie wished she would have had early on when she was first starting to navigate the highs and lows of being human.

Dig in to the episode at www.artofdoing.co or download on iTunes!

On today's episode of Art of Doing, you'll get to meet one of my favorite humans on the planet, Becca Gosnell.

When I first arrived in Charleston as a super-green entrepreneur, Becca was one of the first people to reach out and say hello. And in my naïveté I thought "Why is she being so nice to me? She must want something from me, right?!"

I just couldn't fathom the idea that another woman in the same industry (event production) could possibly just want connect. Weren't we competitors?! Weren't women known for cutting one another down on the way to the top?!

I had it all wrong. Her intentions were pure, rooted in a passion for people that rises beyond any notion of hierarchy, competition, or the number of years you've lived on Earth.

During the years that followed Becca became one of my most meaningful mentors and colleagues. She helped me grow. She challenged me to think bigger. She boosted my confidence when I needed it, and reminded me when I was focused on all the wrong things.

On the show we talk about her 20+ year career creating unique events for people to come together and experience joy. We also touch on personality differences at work, what she learned at Burning Man, and the power of a team.

To connect with Becca visit:

Gosnell & Company https://www.gosnellandcompany.com/

GOCO Events https://www.gocoevents.com/

I hope you enjoy the episode and if you do, would you leave a review on iTunes? Consider it a belated birthday gift to me since I'm celebrating another lap around the sun on August 6th!

As a reminder I'll be taking 2 weeks off the show while I'm in Uganda, so I'll see you soon with Season 2! If you care to follow our trip to Uganda, I'll be sharing a few pics on Instagram at @hilarypj.

Until next time!

It's no secret I love to travel. So it's a damn good thing I found a boyfriend who shares in this obsession. In the past year we've explored Costa Rica, France, Italy, Cuba, Peru, and Los Angeles (though LA sounds funny to add to this string of countries!)

On today's episode of Art of Doing, I sit down with my man, Caleb Goding to talk about how he spends his time outside of running a hedge fund. We talk travel, adventure, and the minimalist approach that he embodies in every aspect of his life.

Why is traveling light so important?

What does Caleb believe is freed up when you have less stuff?

What is it about travel that changes you?

And practically speaking, how does one travel in just a backpack for 2 weeks, even when it entails a visit to the Montecarlo Casino?

We break it all down and then some on No. 11 - Caleb Goding Does Minimalist Adventure.

To connect with Caleb and his travel pics, follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sibeachboy/

Or visit his company, Drift Capital Partners at http://driftcp.com/

And to learn more about the backpack we're utterly obsessed with visit https://www.minaal.com/products/minaal-carry-on-bag

What started as a competition with co-workers to lose the most weight, ended up sparking a new passion for Jeff Miller.

Intent to win the $1800 cash prize, he enlisted the help of his wife Myia, a long time endurance athlete to help him build a plan to crush his competition & his weight loss goal.

And he did just that.

"Now do you think I could run 40 miles for my 40th birthday?" he asked his wife.

"Of course! Why not?!" So she helped him build another training plan to reach his new goal.

And again, with a lot of training, and the support of his wife, his daughter (Claire Bear), and friends, he crushed that goal too.

Now Jeff is on a mission to crush a 100k run at the Christmas in July Races!

So I was dying to know...

What is it that drives him to want to put his mind & body through over 62 miles of pounding the pavement?

What does he think about when he's running that long?

How does he keep going when it SUCKS?

How does he set goals that count, and keep himself motivated over the long haul?

I invite you to listen in to No. 10 - Jeff Miller Does the Long Haul

To connect with Jeff, check out his Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/beerjeff/

PS. Spoiler Alert - He totally crushed the 100k run! He completed 65.5 miles in under 12 hours!

Stephanie Olson is one bad ass woman. She's an entrepreneur, world traveler, yogi, wife, and mother to three amazing kids....one of whom sat in our podcast interview at the wee age of 6 weeks old.

(Violet, you're definitely my youngest podcast guest and you ROCKED it!)

Years ago Stephanie spent two summers in India studying Jainism. While there she visited Jain, Buddhist and Hindu temples, observed religious ceremonies, and visited the Ellora and Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad. Upon returning to the states, she was forever changed. Inspired by the stories and teachings of Indian religions, she wanted to find a way to share them with the world.

That's when her company, Inspired by Stephanie Rose was born. She creates jewelry and apparel for the active and spiritual inspired by eastern religions, travel and mythology.

On any given weekend you're likely to find Stephanie (and her family) popped up in a tent at Wanderlust or another kickass yoga festival selling their wares. It's a family affair. Her husband, kids, parents, and even brothers have been known to lend a hand, which she will tell you is one of her keys to success.

So what drives Stephanie to live a life full of inspiration? And just how does she juggle it all...family, business, and a personal life?

Let's dig in!

Back in March I ran into a really rad chick, whose team at cARTel had created a a brand activation at SXSW in Austin, Texas. And today that rad chick, Negin Singh, joins me on the Art of Doing Podcast.

Negin is the Founder and CEO of the experiential production company, cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA, which produces BROKE LA, No Budget Film Festival, among countless other immersive experiences. Negin is an Experiential Producer, a creative in tech, a branding expert, a spoken word artist, a self appointed part-time matchmaker, a rescuer of weird dogs, a devotee of stickers. She also once held the very Silicon Valley title, "Director of Inspiration" at Augmented Reality developers, DAQRI.

She has been profiled on the White House Blog, Hello Giggles, Pivot TV, OC MAGAZINE, and was named one of the top 30 Indian Entrepreneurs under 30 by India Current Magazine.

On this episode we talk about what inspired her to launch a business creating unique, immersive experiences for herself, her friends, and for big corporate clients. We talk about what it was like to be raised by two entrepreneurial parents and the amazing advice her dad, Banka, gave her that she still replays to this day. And we talk about the root of it all...connection...the simple, yet magical gift, of bringing people together.

To learn more about Negin & her work, visit

cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA at http://www.wearecartel.org/

YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-IhXUH9FAo

Instagram: @cartelarts

Ashley Bell is a life long teacher and as she'll tell you, an unlikely entrepreneur. It was one long, windy road that lead her down the path to becoming the owner and founder of Reverb, a studio that "provides yoga-inspired practices to stretch and strengthen the body as well as stress-management techniques to calm the mind."

As a self-described introvert, Ashley learned that practicing art gave her a framework for expression that gave her comfort and confidence in navigating life. In a quest to share that gift with others, she began teaching art as a means of encouraging self-empowerment, self-expression, and connection with her students.

Later when she discovered yoga, it became clear to Ashley that the path to empowerment, expression, and connection was a lot more direct with yoga, than with art. So in 2003, she became certified in yoga instruction, building her impressive career as a teacher.

Yet she wanted something more. She loved teaching and had a little inkling of an idea that she might want a studio of her own, to teach things her way and call her own shots. But taking risks wasn't a characteristic Ashley lived & breathed.

So just how did Ashley end up taking that proverbial leap? And what was it like to watch her dream studio be built (literally) before her eyes for nearly an entire year?

Listen to Ashley Bell's story of teaching, finding her voice, following her passion, learning patience, and taking unlikely leaps of faith.

To connect with Ashley visit http://reverbcharleston.com/